1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to a system for holding an object while it is being painted, and more particularly to a system and process for effectively coating and storing a set of objects.
2. Description of the Related Art
Over the years, several techniques have been used to apply a protective or appearance coating or surface treatment to a door. For a homeowner, the technique typically involves using a brush or roller to apply a treatment coating to a door while it remains on hinges. Although this technique prevents the backbreaking task of removing and transporting the door, it does involve the time consuming task of masking and covering a portion of the room surrounding the door. In turn, because a treatment coating may have an unpleasant odor and require a prolonged period of time to cure and set, the homeowner may need to leave the room or worry about others touching the door for hours after the treatment has been applied.
When multiple doors, shutters, or other objects require surface treatments, which is usually the case at construction sites, the above method is not practical because numerous workers may continually move in and out of any or all rooms at the site. Consequently, a current method used for the treatment of multiple objects involves leaning the objects against various walls of a large room, such as a garage, and applying the treatment coating to a first side. The doors are left leaning against the wall while the treated side cures and sets, after which the other side is treated.
Although this method preoccupies only one room for the duration of the treatment, curing and setting process, and allows the painter to use a spray gun to expedite the treatment process, it clutters the room with multiple doors. In turn, these precariously standing doors occupy a significant amount of space. As a result, various forgetful individuals may pass by and accidentally graze or brush against one of the doors, possibly creating a domino effect relative to other treated doors, thereby undesirably forcing a worker to repeat the treatment process.
To expedite the application of a treatment coating to an object, various systems have been introduced. In general, these systems vertically position a door in an apparatus that allows the door to rotate. With this method, both sides of the door can be treated without having to wait for the other side to dry. However, these systems are cumbersome and typically quite expensive. Unless several such systems are present, a worker must undesirably wait for the treatment to cure and set before another door can be treated.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.
The present invention comprises a system and method for treating object surfaces. In the context of the present invention, an object may be a piece of lumber, a door, a shutter, a window frame, or a similar structure that requires one or more surface treatments such as painting. The system comprises a first object hanger that is mounted to a first end of an object; a second object hanger mounted to a second end of the object; a treatment apparatus; and a storage apparatus. An object hanger comprises a plate upon which a shaft is centrally seated. The plate includes holes that facilitate attachment of the object hanger to the object via screws or other types of fasteners or securing devices. The shaft includes a first and a second recessed channel that are preferably offset toward the plate relative to the midpoint of the shaft""s length, and which form a pinch width smaller than the shaft""s diameter.
The treatment apparatus serves as a station that holds an object in a horizontal position, while allowing the object to be selectively rotated about an axis that extends from the shaft of the first object hanger to that of the second object hanger. The object may be securely positioned in any desired rotational orientation about this axis, thereby facilitating easy application of treatments to particular object surfaces.
The treatment apparatus comprises a first and a second stand, each of which includes a supporting brace. The supporting brace comprises an L-shaped bar having a cutout portion. A supporting insert fits into the cutout portion. The supporting insert includes a U-shaped recess capable of receiving and cradling an object hanger""s shaft. The treatment apparatus further comprises a positioning attachment that mounts to each supporting brace. The positioning attachment comprises an L-shaped bar and a snug screw. The positioning attachment""s L-shaped bar includes a threaded opening into which the snug screw is inserted. Tightening the snug screw past a certain point causes the end of the snug screw to firmly press against the shaft of an object hanger cradled in the supporting brace.
When an object hanger""s shaft is placed in the supporting insert""s U-shaped recess, the shaft, and hence the object, may be easily rotated 360 degrees as long as the snug screw has not been tightened against the shaft. Once the snug screw has been tightened to an extent that it firmly presses against the shaft, the object hanger, and hence the object, are maintained in a fixed position. By loosening and then retightening the snug screw, a user or worker may reposition the object in the treatment apparatus as desired, thereby facilitating easy application of treatments to the object""s surfaces.
The storage apparatus serves as a station at which multiple objects may be stored in close proximity in a side-by-side manner. Each object may be placed in the storage apparatus immediately following surface treatment, such that the surfaces of multiple objects may be simultaneously drying or curing while the objects reside in the storage apparatus.
The storage apparatus comprises a first and second stand. The first stand includes a storage anchoring brace, which comprises an L-shaped bar having at least one cutout portion and a set of anchoring inserts. Each anchoring insert fits into a cutout portion, and includes an anchoring recess. The anchoring recess is shaped to fit an object hanger shaft""s pinch width, and hence the anchoring recess is narrower than the diameter of the shaft.
The second stand includes a storage support brace, which comprises an L-shaped bar having at least one cutout portion, and a set of supporting inserts of the type previously described. Each supporting insert fits into one of the storage support brace""s cutout portions.
To place an object in the storage apparatus, the user positions one object hanger shaft in the supporting insert of the storage support brace and the other object hanger shaft in the storage anchoring brace""s anchoring insert. The anchoring insert receives the portion of the object hanger shaft defined by the pinch width, and hence the object is securely held or maintained in a predetermined position in the storage apparatus. The storage apparatus allows multiple objects to dry or cure in a minimal amount of space, while securely isolating the objects from each other.